Hot Chocolate
by SeaWraith46
Summary: Nine year-old Max and ten year-old Chloe get up to shenanigans in the woods that end with Max falling in a river so they return to Chloe's house for some hot chocolate to warm up.


Max eyed the steep slope in front of her, frowning at the knee-deep snow and many low-hanging branches between her and the top of the hill. "Are we really going to climb that?"

"Of course," Chloe said, grinning as she surveyed the same terrain. "We're mountain climbers, aren't we? So we gotta have mountains to climb!" She turned to look at Max, her smile falling somewhat at the concern on Max's face. "We'll go slow, okay? It'll be fun, I promise."

"Okay." Max nodded and couldn't help but smile as Chloe's excited grin widened again.

"Come on then. We've got a mountain to climb!"

Chloe set out determinedly toward the bottom of the hill, making good time through the thick snow, stopping occasionally to look back and make sure Max was still close behind her. Each time Max gave Chloe a small, reassuring smile before dropping her gaze to the ground and concentrating on placing her feet in each of Chloe's footprints.

About halfway up, the trees became thicker, placing more branches in their way. They ducked under those they could and the rest Chloe pushed out of the way, making sure to hold them aside until Max was clear before letting them swing back into place.

"We're almost there," Chloe said, grunting as she bent another branch out of their path. "We've almost reach the summit!"

When the top of the hill became visible through the trees, Chloe sped up, leaving Max lingering a few feet behind her. She reached the summit and turned back to Max, lying down on her stomach and extending her hand. "Come on, Max! You can do it, just take my hand!"

Barely containing her laughter, Max fell to her knees and reached for Chloe's hand. "I don't know if I can make it!"

"Yes you can," Chloe wailed melodramatically as the fingertips of their gloves touched. "You can do it. I believe in you!"

Max stretched forward the last few inches and Chloe's gloved hand grasped hers firmly. She yelped in surprise as Chloe gave her arm a quick pull, causing Max to land on her stomach with her face only a few inches from Chloe's.

"Told ya you could do it," Chloe said, scrunching her nose as the condensation of Max's breath brushed across her face. She let go of Max's hand and rolled over onto her back, punching the air with her right hand. "We did it! We reached the summit!"

Max laughed, crawling over to sit next to Chloe. "Thanks to you, yeah, we did."

"I couldn't have done it without you, Max," Chloe said with a lop-sided grin. Suddenly, her face brightened and she sat up, rummaging through the snow next to her with her back to Max. A moment later she turned and presented Max with twig that had a dead leaf stuck on one end.

"Uh, thanks?" Max said. She took the stick and stared at it in confusion for a few seconds before glancing up at Chloe, who was looking at her expectantly. "Um, what is it?

"It's a flag, silly! So we can claim the mountain we just climbed."

"Oh! Right." Max used her free hand to press together a small mound of snow and stuck Chloe's makeshift flag in the center. "I claim this mountain in the name of Chloe and Max. Mountain climbers and best friends forever."

"Forever," Chloe said with a satisfied nod. She watched Max for a several seconds longer before swiveling her head to look at the trees surrounding them. "Come on, let's see what else is up here."

Chloe stood and brushed the snow from her pants and Max rose to follow, quickly falling into step behind her as they made their way through the trees.

They hadn't taken more than a few steps before Chloe stuck out her hand behind her, bringing Max to a halt. "Shh, you hear that?"

Max tried to quiet her panting breaths, straining to hear whatever it was Chloe was listening to. "Is that…water, maybe?"

"Yeah, I think there's a stream or something up ahead. Let's go find it!" Chloe called over her shoulder as she set off toward the sound.

Max hurried after Chloe, again focusing her gaze down on stepping in Chloe's footprints, so much so that she almost ran into Chloe's back when she stopped a few minutes later. Peeking around Chloe's shoulder, Max discovered they were standing on the bank of a small, ice-covered river.

"We should cross it," Chloe said, taking a step from the snow and onto the ice covering the water.

"Chloe, no, wait." Max grabbed Chloe's arm, pulling her back onto the snowy bank. "Look at the ice in the middle, you can see some of the water through it. I don't think it's thick enough to walk on."

"Darn, you're right," Chloe conceded, frowning at the dark water drifting slowly beneath the ice. She turned her head to look to the left, then to the right, her eyes lighting up when she caught sight of a large log that spanned the width of the river. "We can use that!"

"Chloe, no…" Max trailed off as Chloe made her way toward the log, making no indication that she had heard Max's protests. Max followed her with a sigh.

Planting on foot firmly on the fallen tree trunk, Chloe leaned back and forth several times to test if it would take her weight.

"I really don't think this is a good idea," Max said quietly as Chloe swung her other leg up to take another step.

"It'll be fine, Max," Chloe yelled back, teetering slightly as a gust of wind swept through the trees.

Max held her breath, not releasing it until Chloe hopped off the log and onto the opposite bank. "Cool, you made it over there. Can you come back now so we can go do something else?"

"No way." Chloe shook her head. "You need to make it over here first."

"I don't know, Chloe…" Max glanced nervously at the log, worrying her lower lip between her teeth.

"Come on, Max, it'll be fine. I promise."

"Okay…" Max approached the log hesitantly, placing one foot on the wood and mimicking the way Chloe had tested it to make sure it could bear her weight. She glanced at Chloe one last time, who gave her an encouraging smile and a thumbs up, before taking her second step. Wobbling slightly, Max kept her eyes glued to her feet, watching as she carefully set them one in front of the other. A small smile began to build on her features as she made it halfway across the fallen tree, laughing a little at Chloe's continued cheering.

"Halfway there, Super Max, you can do it!"

Max looked up to meet Chloe's eyes at the exact second her foot slipped from the icy wood. Waving her arms frantically in a futile attempt to regain her balance, Max felt herself falling sideways toward the river. She slammed onto the ice, which held for a split second before giving way and plunging her into the freezing water.

Everything went dark asshe was submerged in the paralyzing cold of the river. For several agonizingly long seconds, Max couldn't get herself to move against the slow moving current.

Suddenly a pair of hands grabbed her right arm, heaving her towards the surface. She came up coughing and spluttering, her vision still spotty as she tried to focus on Chloe's terrified face.

"Max! Max, oh my god," Chloe cried as she pulled Max to the edge of the hole she had made in the ice. "Max, say something, please!"

Max's vision finally cleared and she managed to stop coughing long enough to gasp out, "Chloe!"

"Yes, Max, I'm here!"

"Chloe, it's so c-cold."

"I know, just hang on," Chloe said, looking frantically between Max and the river bank. "We're going to get you out of there, okay? But I need to get to the other side first so just hold on. Can you do that, Max?"

Max nodded, her teeth beginning to chatter.

Chloe slowly released Max's shoulders, not moving away until she was certain Max wouldn't slip back into the water. She crawled back to the edge of the river and leapt toward the log, all but running across it to the other side. Once she was on the opposite bank, Chloe slid onto her stomach and scooted to where Max still floated in the river. She hooked her arms under Max's shoulders and pulled her free of the water, rising to her knees and shuffling backwards to drag Max onto the snow.

Panting heavily, Chloe braced her arms on her knees, watching carefully as Max rolled onto her side and coughed up more water. A gust of wind rushed around them and Max curled into a ball, gasping as her wet clothes brushed against her skin.

"Max," Chloe said, watching with concern as Max began to shiver more violently. "We need to get you somewhere warm. Can you move?"

"I-I think so. I'm just so cold." Max resisted the urge to curl further into herself, instead allowing Chloe to help her to her feet.

Chloe wrapped an arm around Max's shoulders, gently guiding her back toward the top of the hill. With most of her mind still focused on how cold she was, Max was only vaguely aware that Chloe was trudging through the deep snow next to her, letting her walk in the footprints they had made on the way to the river. Once they reached the hill, Chloe took the lead on the way down, again holding branches out of Max's way.

When they reached the bottom, Max's hands and feet had begun to ache with the cold. "Chloe, can we…can we stop," Max breathed, crossing her arms over her chest to try to hide how much she was shaking.

Chloe bit her lower lip, her brows knitting together as she looked at Max. "I don't think that's a good idea. I think we should just keep going."

"I don't know if I c-can," Max said, looking away from Chloe as tears pricked the corners of her eyes.

"Come on, Super Max," Chloe said as she bent down to hook her arm underneath Max's. "You can do it. I know you can. And I'll be with you the whole time."

"Okay." Max turned her head to look at Chloe, who gave her a smile that didn't quite hide the worry in her eyes. "Let's go."

It took about fifteen minutes for them to make it out of the woods and into Chloe's neighborhood. Chloe stayed hunched over the entire time with her arm tucked securely around Max, muttering quiet words of encouragement every time Max tried to slow down. By the time Chloe's house came into view, Max was so cold she could barely concentrate enough to put one foot in front of the other. A thin layer of ice had formed on her wet clothes and Chloe had to half drag her to the front door of the house.

"Dad!" Chloe yelled as she shoved open the door. "Dad, we need help!"

William came rushing down the stairs a few seconds later, followed closely by Joyce.

"What happened to you two?" Joyce asked as she knelt in front of Max and brushed away several strands of hair that had frozen to Max's face.

"Max fell in a river and I pulled her out," Chloe said, shifting Max out of the way so William could close the door behind them.

Joyce frowned and moved to take Max from Chloe's grasp. "Chloe, you go upstairs and find some warm clothes for Max to put on while I help her out of her coat."

Chloe took several steps toward the stairs but hesitated, turning back to look at Max.

"She'll be fine, Chloe. We'll make sure of it," William said gently. "Now you go find her some clothes and I'll get some hot chocolate ready for you two."

Chloe nodded, shedding her coat and boots as quickly as possible before running up the stairs. William headed to the kitchen and Joyce began to struggle with the frozen zipper on Max's coat.

A few minutes later Joyce had managed to help Max out of her wet outer layers, leaving her standing in only a t-shirt and jeans, still shivering slightly.

"Go on up to Chloe now," Joyce directed as she gathered up Max's discarded winter gear. "I'll go hang these up to dry."

Max muttered a quiet 'thank you' before heading upstairs, wincing as each step sent needling sensations through her still-numb feet. Her hands were almost too cold to move properly and she fumbled with the door handle to Chloe's room for several seconds before finally getting it open.

Chloe looked up when Max entered the room, pointing to a pair of sweatpants and wool socks on her bed before returning to rifling through her dresser. "You can use those. I'm still looking for a sweater."

Max walked to the bed and undressed as quickly as she could manage before slipping into Chloe's dry clothes. A moment later Chloe handed her a thick sweater, which Max pulled over her head with a satisfied sigh.

"Thanks," Max said, giving Chloe a small smile.

Chloe nodded but didn't meet Max's eyes. "My dad probably has hot chocolate ready for us now."

She opened the door and left the room without another word, leaving a startled and confused Max in her wake. Frowning, Max grabbed the last of her wet clothes and headed after Chloe.

By the time she got downstairs and handed Joyce her cold jeans and t-shirt, Chloe was already sitting at the table, staring down into the cup of hot chocolate between her hands. Max moved to sit across from her, smiling up at William when he placed another steaming mug on the table in front of her.

"Don't look so sad, Chloe," William said, walking around to the other side of the table to place a soft kiss on the top of Chloe's head. "Max is going to be fine."

He walked back to the kitchen, pulling two more mugs from the cupboard and filling them, handing one to Joyce when she joined him a moment later. She asked him something in a low voice that Max couldn't hear, his whispered response causing her to laugh and give him a small shove.

Max watched the two of them for a moment, smiling at their antics, before turning back to Chloe, who was still staring solemnly into her cocoa.

"Hey, Max?" Chloe asked without looking up, gripping her mug tightly.

"Yeah?"

"Are you okay?"

"I think so. I'm just still a little cold."

"Okay." Chloe dipped the tip of her finger into her hot chocolate and swirling it around as an uncomfortable silence settled over them.

"You know, Chloe," William called from the kitchen a few minutes later, "I bet Max would be a lot warmer if the two of you were underneath a blanket and watching a movie."

Chloe raised her head slowly to look a Max, a hopeful look in her eyes.

"Sounds great," Max said. Chloe's face broke out into a relieved grin that Max couldn't help but return.

Chloe rose and moved into the living room, setting her mug on the floor in front of the TV and selecting a Disney movie at random from a collection of VHS tapes on a nearby shelf. After setting up the movie, she grabbed a blanket from the couch, draped it around her shoulders, and sat down, holding out her arm for Max to sit next to her. Max plopped down and scooted as close as possible to Chloe, who wrapped her arm and the blanket securely around Max.

"Are you warm enough?" Chloe asked as Max took a sip of her cocoa.

Max nodded, her eyes focused on the Disney logo flashing across the screen.

"Good," Chloe said, turning to the TV as well. "I'm…I'm sorry I made you try to cross that log."

"It's okay." Max tilted her head to look up into Chloe's face and smiled. "I'm okay now. Thanks for saving me."

"Yeah," Chloe said, the corner of her mouth quirking up into a smile. "Maybe one day you'll return the favor, Super Max."

Max laughed and laid her head on Chloe's shoulder. "Yeah, maybe."


End file.
